Images and signs can be produced using a wide variety of techniques. The advancement of digital photography and design has provided individuals and businesses with improved abilities to communicate and display various information. Hardcopy images which are protected from degradation due to factors such as handling, abrasion, liquid contact, ink smearing, fading, weathering, and oxidation is a desirable pursuit. Various methods to overcome and reduce degradation of hardcopy prints have been sought by those in the industry. However, many of these methods involve considerable expense and an undesirable number of steps.
In addition to the above, production of signs and documents having unique backgrounds with respect to printed information can provide consumers a broader choice of media on which to present such information. For this and other reasons, the need exists for improved methods and systems for forming images on varied backgrounds, which have decreased manufacturing costs and improved resistance to degradation.